The Fantastic Four do not good movies make. The highest rated of the three Fantastic Four films is the second installment of the first run, and it only managed a 37% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Unfortunately, that 37% (which is very poor) is more than three times higher than the “Fantastic Four” reboot that came out last week.
This movie quite simply fails to deliver on any of the things you want in a superhero movie. It’s dour, dull and defective. This incarnation of the Fantastic Four franchise is an origin story, but with high school kids instead of adults. This film makes the same mind-wrenching mistake that “Project Almanac” made earlier this year – it takes supposedly genius-level students and has them make stupid mistake after stupid mistake. This is a movie that prizes itself on its scientific acumen and then isn’t remotely scientific in its approach or ideals.
Furthermore, and perhaps worse, it’s not heroic. Superhero movies don’t have to be happy-go-lucky (Batman certainly isn’t a hugger) but they do have to be heroic. Director Josh Trank, who helmed the under-appreciated “Chronicle” from 2012, has a keen eye for visuals and has an interesting take on regular people acquiring superhuman abilities, but he does not, unfortunately, have an eye for what makes a hero a hero, or what makes a villain a villain. “Fantastic Four” was awash in inconsistent and incomprehensible character motivations that left the surprisingly little action feeling hollow.
I rather despise the first two “Fantastic Four” movies, but they are miles more entertaining than this heap. At least they have some humor and a believable hero’s journey. It’s very hard for me to recommend this film to any audience, under any circumstances.
On a much more exciting note, I wanted to take a second to let Hays Daily News and Hays Post readers know that I have accepted a job at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. and will be moving at the end of the week. I very much intend to continue seeing movies and writing reviews, but if I do happen to miss a week, I hope that you will understand. I’m very much looking forward to starting my new position and starting a new chapter of my life in our nation’s capital.
2 of 6 stars